So once again, I find myself back at my blog after a loooonnng absence. This time, I have a really good excuse. :) Here he is! This sweet boy has been keeping me busy. Now that he is 10 months old and taking naps longer than half an hour :), I finally feel like I can get back to creating things for school and sharing what's going on with all of you.
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| Photo Copyright Jenny Kerola. 2016. |
Spring is here in Kansas, and I absolutely love it. The daffodils are starting to bloom and so are some of the flowering trees. So, I wanted to share with you a really simple, low-prep game I created a while ago to help students practice spelling words.
This simple game board can be used with any spelling words, sight words, word family/pattern words, etc. If you use Words Their Way, this is the perfect game to throw into your weekly routines with almost no prep. It is pretty much what that program refers to as a "blind sort," just with a game board to keep track of the number of correctly spelled words.
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| Click on the picture to download this freebie from my TPT store. |
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Click on the picture to download this freebie from my TPT store.
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Here's how it works. Each pair of students needs one copy of the game board, a set of word cards, and two game pieces. You print out (or have students write on index cards for extra practice) the words you want students to use to play. Better yet, again if you use Words Their Way, you could just make extra copies of the word sort for the week and have kids cut them out to use. This is a fabulous way to differentiate their spelling and word work practice, too. Not all of your students have to use the same words!
Basically, students take turns picking a card and reading it aloud to their partners. Their partner spells the word without looking at the card using word patterns they know, from memory, etc. If they spell it correctly, they get to advance to the next circle on the board. If not, they just leave their game piece where it was. This continues until one player makes it from the bird to the nest.
You could make this a new staple during your word study or centers time by just switching out the words each week, and you have a constant activity that takes very little prep or teaching time. Once students know how to play, they can use the same game boards over and over again with different words.
To add a little more fun and novelty to the game, I picked up some spring erasers at Target in the dollar section. Students can use these as game pieces! :)
I hope you can use this simple freebie to change up your spelling practice and keep your students engaged during this time of year when we all know they can get a little squirmy! :)
Jenny
